Die Hard Sports Fan

The Mets are going to host the Reds this weekend.  As of right now, the game is on even though it is raining in Queens.  The Mets have an opportunity to beat up on some crappy NL teams right now.  We’ll see if that actually happens or if they will continue to play .500 baseball.  Here’s a look at the probable pitching matchups:

• 05/09/2008 - Matt Belisle (1-2) - Mike Pelfrey (2-2)
• 05/10/2008 - Bronson Arroyo (1-4) - Johan Santana (3-2)
• 05/11/2008 - Johnny Cueto (2-3) - Oliver Perez (2-3)

Mets.com:

Shea’s days numbered: Nos. 69-60

Pagan day-to-day with shoulder injury - Anthony DiComo reported that, “An MRI taken on Thursday revealed that Mets outfielder Angel Pagan has a contusion of his left shoulder, the result of his crashing into the stands on Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium. Pagan is day-to-day.”

Newsday:

Pagan has bruised shoulder

THIS DAY AT THE OLD BALLPARK - Newsday lets us know what happened at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium on May 9th of another year.

Heilman trying to get back on track for Mets

New York Daily News:

Omar Minaya paying the price - Adam Rubin discusses the Mets‘ bullpen issues.

Willie Randolph’s efforts Met with nonsense early in season - Bob Raissman explains why the Mets fans are acting a bit crazy.

New York Post:

WRIGHT IS WRONG - Bart Hubbuch stated that David Wright’s slump has him searching for answers.

PAGAN DAY-TO-DAY AFTER PAINFUL CATCH IN LA

The Star-Ledger:

Mets have very little fire … and the manager is to blame - Dan Graziano does some Willie bashing.

Pagan day-to-day with bruised shoulder

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The New York Mets (16-15) are playing Game 32 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Los Angeles Dodgers (19-14) at Dodger Stadium.  It’s the final game of a three-game series.  The game began at 3:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Pagan, Anderson, Casanova, Maine.

Dodgers Lineup: Pierre, Ethier, Kemp, Kent, Loney, Martin, DeWitt, Hu, Penny.

At the Plate

Brad Penny (5-2) was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers.  In the Top of the 1st, Penny retired the side in order.  Penny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Church lined a one-out single into center.  Pagan lined a one-out opposite field single into left, and Church moved over to second.  Marlon Anderson worked himself into a full count before driving a one-out RBI Ground Rule Double over the center field fence, and Ryan Church came around to score while Pagan advanced to third.  Raul Casanova grounded a one-out 2-run single through the hole on the right side which scored Angel Pagan and Marlon Anderson.  Maine dropped down a bunt towards the pitcher, and Penny made the out at first as Casanova moved over to second.  Reyes drew a two-out walk.  Luis Castillo grounded a two-out RBI single up the middle which brought Raul Casanova around to score and Reyes advanced to second.  Penny fanned Wright after the Mets batted around the order.  Penny gave up 5 Hits, 4 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Beltran led off by grounding a single through the hole on the left side.  Church hit a no-out broken bat line drive into shallow right, and Beltran went first to third.  Angel Pagan grounded to second, and Kent only made the out at second while Carlos Beltran scored.  Anderson flied out to the warning track in right.  With Casanova at the plate, Pagan stole second by beating out the pitch out.  Casanova grounded out to second to end the inning.  Penny gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Castillo lined a two-out double down the right field line.  Wright grounded out to third to end the inning.  Penny gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Penny hit Church with the pitch to give the Mets a one-out base runner.  Chavez replaced Pagan, and Penny fanned Chavez on three pitches.  Anderson grounded to short, and Anderson beat out the throw for a two-out single as Church moved over to second.  Casanova worked himself into a full count before drawing a walk that loaded the bases.  John Maine lined a two-out 2-run single into center which scored Ryan Church and Marlon Anderson while Casanova advanced to second.  Reyes drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Penny gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  Penny left the game after pitching 4.2 Innings allowing 10 Hits, 10 Runs, 10 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Torre replaced Penny with Scott Proctor with two outs in the Top of the 5th.  Luis Castillo drew a two-out walk which brought home Raul Casanova.  David Wright drove a two-out Ground Rule Double over the left field wall which scored John Maine and Jose Reyes while Castillo advanced to third.  With Beltran in the batters box, Proctor threw a wild pitch which brought home Luis Castillo.  Beltran grounded out to second to end the inning.  Proctor gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the Top of the 5th.  In the Top of the 6th, Ryan Church hit the first pitch of the inning over the wall in right center.  Chavez flied out to center.  Proctor struck out Anderson swinging.  Casanova drove a two-out double that one-hopped the wall in left center.  Proctor fanned Maine on three straight pitches.  Proctor gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Proctor left the game after pitching 1.1 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs.

Torre replaced Proctor with Chan Ho Park to begin the Top of the 7th.  Park pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Park gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Top of the 8th, Park sent the Mets down in order again.  Park gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.  In the Top of the 9th, Maine was still batting and he struck out looking.  Park gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

John Maine (3-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Ethier flied to foul territory along the left field line and Pagan dove over the wall to make the catch and landed on his head in the stands (Randolph and the Trainors came out to check up on him, and he got up eventually and recieved a standing ovation which is the opposite of what Reyes got in Philly).  Maine pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Maine retired 6 straight Dodgers.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Hu pulled the ball down the right field line for a leadoff double.  Penny popped in foul ground along the third base line, and Wright made the catch.  Pierre grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at first to leave Hu at second.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Maine pitched another 1-2-3 inning.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Loney drove a leadoff double into the gap in left center.  Martin drew a no-out walk.  Maine fanned DeWitt.  Hu grounded to second, and the Mets turned the inning ending double play.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Maine pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Maine retired the side in order again.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Maine now retired 10 straight (John Maine is the first Mets pitcher to record an out in the 8th Inning).  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 9th, Jones blooped a pinch hit double near the right field line.  Pierre drew a no-out walk.  Ethier lined out to deep left.  Matt Kemp lined a one-out RBI single into center which brought Andruw Jones around to score and Ethier moved over to second.  Maine gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.  Maine left the game after pitching 8.1 Innings allowing 4 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Randolph replaced Maine with Duaner Sanchez with one out in the Bottom of the 9th.  Young grounded to third, and Wright tagged third and attempted to make the out at first but Young beat it out.  Sanchez struck out Loney on a check swing.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 12 - Los Angeles Dodgers 1.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  John Maine (4-2) got the win and Brad Penny (5-3) got the loss.

Close, but no cigar.  The Maine Man was two outs away from handing the Mets their first complete game shutout of ‘08.  I knew this game was over when Maine drove in 2 runs in the 5th, and Maine only allowed 1 hit up to that point.  Maine went into the Bottom of the 9th with a two-hit shutout and got into some trouble and gave up a run.  Once the run scored, Willie replaced Maine with Sanchez.  Offensively, the Mets batted around in two separate innings.  Everybody but Reyes got a hit, but Reyes did walk twice and score once.  Church had 3 Hits today including a solo shot.

It was a great game for the Amazins’, but they lost the series to Dem Bums.  The Mets finished their road trip 3-3 against the team with the best record and against the hottest team in baseball.  3-3 isn’t good, but it could be worse.  The Mets have an off day tomorrow before they host the Reds for a weekend series.

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The New York Mets (16-14) are playing Game 31 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Los Angeles Dodgers (18-14) at Dodger Stadium.  It’s the second game of a three-game series.  The game began at 10:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.Mets Lineup: Reyes, Church, Wright, Alou, Delgado, Pagan, Schneider, Castillo, Figueroa.

Dodgers Lineup: Pierre, Jones, Kemp, Kent, Loney, Martin, DeWitt, Hu, Kuroda.

At the Plate

Hiroki Kuroda (1-2) was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers.  In the Top of the 1st, Ryan Church hit a one-out solo shot to center.  Wright drove the ball just foul of the right sideline, and Kemp made the out.  Alou lined a two-out single into center.  Delgado grounded to short, and Hu made the force out at second to end the inning.  Kuroda gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Pagan dropped down a bunt towards the pitcher and Kuroda made a bad throw to first so Pagan is safe.  Schneider pulled a single down the right field line, and Pagan went first to third.  Luis Castillo lined a no-out RBI single into center which brought Angel Pagan home, and Schneider advanced to second.  Figueroa dropped down a bunt towards the pitcher, and Kuroda (Error on Hiroki Kuroda) made a bad throw to third so the bases are loaded.  Jose Reyes lined a no-out RBI single into center, and Brian Schneider scored.  Church grounded to the pitcher, and Kuroda got the out at home before Martin got Church out at first.  Kuroda fanned Wright with Mets on second and third.  Kuroda gave up 4 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Alou grounded to third and DeWitt (Error on Blake DeWitt) couldn’t field it properly so Alou is on base.  Delgado grounded a no-out single up the middle, and Alou went first to third.  Pagan grounded to third, and DeWitt got the force out at second.  With Schneider at the plate, Pagan stole second so Martin attempted to throw him out but didn’t and then Moises Alou stole home.  Schneider drew a one-out walk.  Castillo grounded to second, and the Dodgers only got the out at second on the double play attempt.  With Figueroa in the batters box, Castillo stole second.  Figueroa drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Reyes grounded to short, and Hu tagged second to leave the bases loaded.  Kuroda gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Wright drew a one-out walk.  Alou lined a one-out single into left, and Wright advanced to second.  Kuroda gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  Kuroda left the game after pitching 3.1 Innings allowing 8 Hits, 4 Runs, 2 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 1 SO.

Torre replaced Kuroda with Hong-Chih Kuo with one out in the Top of the 4th.  Kuo fanned Delgado.  Then Kuo fanned Pagan leaving two Mets stranded.  Kuo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Kuo hit Castillo with the pitch to give the Mets a one-out base runner.  Figueroa drew a one-out walk.  Reyes worked the count full before looking at strike three.  Church also worked the count full prior to staring at strike three with two Mets on base.  Kuo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 3 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Kuo quickly retired the side.  Kuo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Top of the 7th, Kuo sent the Mets down in order again.  Kuo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  Kuo left the game after pitching 3.2 Innings allowing 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 8 SOs.

Torre replaced Kuo with Jonathan Broxton to begin the Top of the 8th.  Church lined a two-out double into the right field corner.  Broxton struck out Wright looking.  Broxton gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Torre replaced Broxton with Takashi Saito to begin the Top of the 9th.  Pagan lined a two-out bloop single into center.  Schneider lined a two-out single into right, and Pagan advanced to second.  Saito caught Castillo looking at strike three to end the game.  Saito gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 S in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

Nelson Figueroa Jr. (2-1) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Jones drew a one-out walk.  Kemp grounded to third, and the Mets only got the out at second on the double play attempt.  With Kent at the plate, Kemp stole second.  Kent drew a two-out walk.  Loney grounded the ball hard down the third base line, and Wright dove to make the stop but couldn’t get the out so the bases are loaded.  Martin flied out to center to leave the bases juiced.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, DeWitt grounded a leadoff single through the hole on the right side.  Figueroa fanned Hu.  Kuroda dropped down a bunt towards first, and Figueroa made the out at first as DeWitt moved over to second.  Juan Pierre lined a two-out RBI single into right, and Blake DeWitt came around to score.  With Jones in the batters box, Pierre attempted to steal second and Schneider threw him out.  Figueroa gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Kemp drew a one-out walk.  Kent grounded to third, and the Mets only got the out at second on the double play attempt.  Loney grounded a single up the middle, and Kent went first to third because Pagan bobbled the ball.  Martin drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Blake DeWitt pulled a two-out 2-run single past Delgado and into right which scored Jeff Kent and James Loney, and Martin advanced to second.  Hu flied out to right to leave two Dodgers stranded.  Figueroa gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Jones lined a two-out single up the middle.  Kemp lined out to third to end the inning.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Martin lined a two-out single into center.  Blake DeWitt hit a two-out in the park home run off of the top of the wall which scored Russell Martin and himself (Church attempted to make the catch and just laid on the ground thinking it was a Homer, and didn’t make a play).  Hu grounded to third, and Wright (2 Base Error on David Wright) made a poor throw to first so Hu advanced to second.  Kuo grounded to third, and Wright tagged Hu as he was running to third.  Figueroa gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  Figueroa left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 8 Hits, 5 Runs, 5 ER, 4 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Randolph replaced Figueroa with Aaron Heilman to begin the Bottom of the 6th.  Kemp lined a one-out single into right field.  With Kent in the batters box, Kemp stole second.  Kent grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at first.  Heilman gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Heilman pitched the Mets first 1-2-3 inning of the game.  Heilman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  Heilman left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Hu grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Young is pinch hitting for Broxton, and Young dropped down a sacrifice bunt which moved Hu to second while Feliciano made the out at first.  Pierre grounded to first, and Delgado tossed it to Feliciano who tagged first while Hu advanced to third.  Feliciano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Joe Smith with two outs in the Bottom of the 8th.  Smith got Jones looking.  Smith gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 4 - Los Angeles Dodgers 5.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Nelson Figueroa Jr. (2-2) took the loss and Hong-Chih Kuo (2-1) got the win.

The Mets already lost this series against the Dodgers.  The Mets were smacking the ball around the park against Koruda, but Torre had enough of that and replaced him with Kuo.  Kuo was lights out against the Mets giving up no hits, one walk, and 8 K’s.  Then the Dodgers’ Bullpen continued to keep the Mets from scoring.  The inside the park homer by DeWitt was pathetic because Church just laid there on the ground.  In the Bottom of the 9th, I had no confidence in Castillo to do anything at the plate.  He had an RBI in the 2nd Inning so it was very unlikely that he would do it again.  This slump he’s in is serious.  The Mets left a ton of men on base all night though so it’s not just his fault.

Maybe the Mets can get out of there without getting swept.  Maine is facing their ace Penny tomorrow.

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The New York Mets (14-12) are playing Game 27 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Arizona Diamondbacks (20-8) at Chase Field.  It’s the first game of a three-game series.  The game began at 9:40 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Church, Wright, Beltran, Alou, Delgado, Casanova, Castillo, Maine.

Diamondbacks Lineup: Young, Byrnes, Hudson, Jackson, Reynolds, Drew, Upton, Montero, Owings.

At the Plate 

Micah Owings (4-0) was the starting pitcher for the Diamondbacks.  In the Top of the 1st, Reyes led off with a triple off the wall in right center.  Ryan Church hit a sacrifice fly to center field which brought Jose Reyes home.  Wright lined a one-out single up the middle.  With Beltran at the plate, Owings threw a wild pitch so Wright took off for second.  Beltran drew a one-out walk.  Moises Alou grounded an RBI single under the glove of Hudson and into center field so David Wright came around to score and Beltran went first to third.  Carlos Delgado grounded an RBI single through the hole on the right side which brought Carlos Beltran home and Alou advanced to second.  Casanova flied out to center, and the runners held up.  Castillo grounded a ball that rolled in front of home plate, and Montero made the out at first to leave two Mets on base.  Owings gave up 4 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Maine grounded out to third.  Reyes dropped a one-out double into shallow center.  Ryan Church drove an RBI double into the gap in right center which scored Jose Reyes (Church has 2 RBIs in 2 attempts already which further confirms that he should be in the 2 spot).  Wright popped up to shallow right, and Hudson made the catch.  Beltran popped up to second, and Hudson made the catch.  Owings gave up 2 Hits, 1 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Delgado drew a one-out walk.  Owings caught Casanova looking at strike three.  Castillo grounded to second, and Hudson made the out at first to end the inning.  Owings gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Ryan Church lined a two-out solo shot to deep right field.  Wright pulled a two-out double down the left field line.  Beltran grounded out to first to end the inning.  Owings gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Delgado dropped a one-out single into right field.  Casanova flied out to center.  Castillo grounded to short, and Drew tagged second for the force out to end the inning.  Owings gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Reyes lined a one-out opposite field single into left.  Church popped up in foul ground along the third base line, and Reynolds made the catch.  With Wright in the batters box, Reyes stole second.  David Wright pulled a two-out 2-run jack over the left field wall which scored Jose Reyes.  Beltran drew a two-out walk.  Owings gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Owings left the game after pitching 5.2 innings allowing 11 Hits, 7 Runs, 7 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Melvin replaced Owings with Brandon Medders with two outs in the Top of the 6th.  With Alou at the plate, Beltran stole second.  Alou drew a two-out walk.  Delgado flied out to left to leave two Mets stranded.  Medders gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Melvin replaced Medders with Doug Slaten to begin the Top of the 7th.  Casanova drew a leadoff walk.  Castillo grounded to second, and the Diamondbacks turned the double play.  Easley is pinch hitting for Maine, and Easley grounded out to third.  Slaten gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Melvin replaced Slaten with Juan Cruz to begin the Top of the 8th.  (Reyes is in need of a Home Run to hit for the cycle) and Reyes drove the ball off of the high wall in dead center, and he attempted an inside the park home run but got thrown out easily at the plate (so he only ended up with another triple).  Church flied out to center.  (Wright is in need of a triple to hit for the cycle) and Wright struck out swinging.  Slaten gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Melvin replaced Slaten with Tony Pena to begin the Top of the 9th.  Pena pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Pena gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

John Maine (2-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Young led off by grounding a single up the middle.  Byrnes popped up to second.  Hudson flied out to left.  Jackson grounded hard to third, and it bounced off of Wright (Error on David Wright) and went into left field so Jackson is on first and Young advanced to second.  Reynolds grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at first to leave to D-Backs on base.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Upton drove a one-out stand up double off of the wall in dead center.  With Montero in the batters box, Maine threw a wild pitch so Upton moved over to third.  Miguel Montero drove the ball over Beltran’s head for a one-out RBI double, and Justin Upton came home to score.  With Owings at the plate, Maine threw another wild pitch so Upton is at third now.  Owings drew a one-out walk.  Chris Young grounded an RBI single up the middle which brought Miguel Montero home, and Owings moved over to second.  Maine fanned Byrnes.  Hudson popped up in foul territory along the left field line, and Wright made a beatiful diving catch to end the inning.  Maine gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Maine pitched his first 1-2-3 inning of the game.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Owings drew a two-out walk.  Maine fanned Young.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Hudson pulled a one-out double down the right field line (Hudson injured himself on the play and had to leave the game so Ojeda replaced him.  Jackson lined the ball off of Delgado’s glove, and the ball went into right field so Jackson ended up with a one-out single and Ojeda advanced to third.  Maine fanned Reynolds.  Drew flied out to left to leave runners on the corners.  Maine gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Maine retired the side in order.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Maine with Joe Smith to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Smith pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Smith gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Drew drew a two-out walk.  Upton grounded a two-out single under the glove of Reyes, and Drew went first to third (I thought Wright tagged Drew in time).  Upton advanced to second when the throw was made at third.  Smith gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  Smith left the game after pitching 1.2 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs.

Randolph replaced Smith with Pedro Feliciano with two outs in the Bottom of the 8th.  Montero grounded out to third to leave to D-Backs on base.  Feliciano gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Sanchez slammed the door on the D-Backs.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 7 - Arizona Diamondbacks 2.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  John Maine (3-2) got the win and Micah Owings (4-1) got the loss.

So all it took for the Metsies to get hot was a little bit of sunshine.  The Mets continue to play unbelievable baseball in the desert.  You can just look at the scoreboard to see what type of game it was, and it went quickly for a game with 9 runs.  Maine was struggling, but he pitched 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs.  The bullpen put up gooseggs with Smith, Feliciano, and Sanchez.  The offense was smokin’ hot.  Reyes and Wright each nearly batted for the cycle.  Church batted in the 2 spot, and you know what that means…the Mets win.  It was Alou’s 2008 debut, and he had 1 Hit, 1 RBI, and he had 1 walk.

The Amazins’ stole a win from the D-Backs because the pitching matchup was in their favor.  Tomorrow, it’s in their favor again.  However, it’s in the Metropolitans favor on Sunday with Santana on the mound.  It was a great game.  The Diamondbacks were 20-8 so they can afford to take a few losses.  Maybe Pelfrey can steal another win from Arizona tomorrow so Santana can steer New York to an unlikely sweep.

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The Mets are out in Arizona right now.  The first game between the Mets and the Diamondbacks is set to take place in about an hour.  The way the pitching rotations are matching up is clearly in their favor because our ace doesn’t pitch until Sunday.  Fortunately, the Metsies have had success out in Arizona over the past few seasons so maybe that will continue.  Here’s the probable pitching matchups for this series:

• 05/02/2008 - John Maine (2-2) - Micah Owings (4-0)
• 05/03/2008 - Mike Pelfrey (2-1) - Brandon Webb (6-0)
• 05/04/2008 - Johan Santana (3-2) - Dan Haren (4-1)

Mets.com:

Prized acquisitions square off on TBS - Steve Gilbert pointed out that Dan Haren and Johan Santana will lead their new squads in front of a national audience on Sunday.

ROBINSON’S NEW PLAQUE UNVEILING POSTPONED - Mets.com reported that this event ismto be rescheduled for a date during the summer.

Newsday:

On air, Mets’ Wagner continues criticism of Perez - Jim Baumbach found out that Wagner had more to say about Oliver Perez in his weekly interview with Michael Kay on 1050 ESPN Radio.  How annoying is it to listen to Michael Kay?  I was listening to 1050 ESPN one day when I was driving because WFAN was in commercials.  Michael Kay was explaining how he need his toilet paper to come down.  As soon as my mind began to process an image of this dude dropping a duece, it grossed me out and I changed the dial back to WFAN.  What does Michael Kay taking a dump have to do with sports?  Good thing I’m not a Yankees fan because it’s tough to listen to that guy.  Kay on tv is better than Sterling on the radio.  If you’re a Yankees fan then you have nowhere to go to listen to the game, except in the Stadium where they have the best voice in sports.

Mets’ second spot in lineup: Go to Church! - David Lennon believes that the Mets perform better with Ryan Church in the 2 spot rather than Luis Castillo.

Mets’ Wright needs to step right up, knock club - Johnette Howard believes that Carlos Beltran or David Wright should also be calling out their teammates like Billy Wagner did after Wednesday’s whooping by the Pirates.

THIS DAY AT THE OLD BALLPARK - Newsday tells us what happened at Shea Stadium and at Yankee Stadium on May 2 of another year.

New York Daily News:

Mets not afraid of Snakes - Adam Rubin reminds us of all of the success the Mets have had in the desert.

New York Post:

TRYING NOT TO TRIP OUT WEST

REYES CAN’T SHAKE SLUMP

The Star-Ledger:

Welcome to the artist formerly known as the BOB

Mets need to bring ‘A’ game to Arizona

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The New York Mets (14-11) are playing Game 26 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Pittsburgh Pirates (10-16) at Shea Stadium.  The series opener got postponed so it’s the second game of the two-game series.  The game began at 1:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Pirates Lineup: McLouth, Sanchez, Bay, Doumit, Nady, LaRoche, Bautista, Gomez, Gorzelanny.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Delgado, Pagan, Molina, Perez.

On the Mound

Oliver Perez (2-1) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Bay drew a two-out walk.  Perez fanned Doumit to leave one stranded.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Nady drew a leadoff walk.  Perez caught LaRoche looking at strike three.  Bautista drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Gomez drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Tom Gorzelanny grounded slowly to second, and Castillo (Error on Luis Castillo) barely release the ball so it ended up on the ground while everbody is safe and Xavier Nady came home to score.  Nate McLouth drew a one-out walk which scored Jose Bautista.  Freddy Sanchez grounded a one-out RBI single up the middle so Chris Gomez came home to score, and the bases remained loaded.  Jason Bay hit a one-out sacrifice fly to center, and Tom Gorzelanny tagged up and scored.  Ryan Doumit pulled an RBI single over the third base bag which scored Nate McLouth, Sanchez went first to third, and Doumit got out of being caught in a rundown and advanced to second.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 7 Runs, 4 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  Perez left the game after pitching 1.2 Innings allowing 2 Hits, 7 Runs, 2 ER, 5 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Randolph replaced Perez with Nelson Figueroa Jr. with two outs in the Top of the 2nd.  Nady dumped a 2-run single into right which scored Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Doumit.  LaRoche drew a two-out walk.  Bautista grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first to stop whatever it is that I’m watching on television.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, McLouth grounded a two-out single through the hole on the right side.  Sanchez flied out right to end the inning.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Nady drew a two-out walk.  LaRoche grounded a two-out single through the hole on the right side which moved Nady to second.  Figueroa also caught Bautista looking to leave two Pirates on base.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Gomez grounded out to short.  Grozelanny popped up to short.  McLouth grounded a two-out double over the first base bag.  Freddy Sanchez hit a two-out RBI single into left as Nate McLouth came around to score.  Figueroa fanned Bay on three straight pitches to leave one Pirate on base.  Figueroa gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  Figueroa left the game after pitching 3.1 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Randolph replaced Figueroa with Jorge Sosa to begin the Top of the 6th.  Doumit led off by hitting a Ground Rule Double over the left field wall.  Xavier Nady drove a no-out RBI double to the gap in left center, and Ryan Doumit came around to score.  Sosa fanned LaRoche.  Bautista grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first while Nady advanced to third.  Gomez grounded to third, and Wright (Error on David Wright) bobbled the ball so Gomez was safe at first while Xavier Nady scored.  Bixler is pinch hitting for Gorzelanny, and Bixler hit a two-out broken bat single into right center as Gomez moved over to second.  Nate McLouth drove a two-out 2-run double over the head of Pagan which scored Chris Gomez and Brian Bixler.  Freddy Sanchez drove the ball to deep left field, and Pagan (Error on Angel Pagan) dropped the ball so Sanchez ended up with a double as Nate McLouth came around to score.  Bay lined out to short to end another ugly inning.  Sosa gave up 4 Hits, 5 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sosa with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Top of the 7th.  Nady grounded a one-out single through the hole on the right side (Mientkiewicz is pinch running for Nady).  LaRoche grounded to short, and the Mets turned the double play.  Feliciano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Aaron Heilman to begin the Top of the 8th.  Heilman pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Heilman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Top of the 9th, Heilman retired the side in order again.  Heilman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Tom Gorzelanny (1-3) was the starting pitcher for the Pirates.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Wright drew a two-out walk.  Beltran also drew a two-out walk.  Gorzelanny fanned Church to leave two Mets on base.  Gorzelanny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Pagan drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Gorzelanny struck out Molina on three pitches.  Figueroa lined out to center to leave one Met on base.  Gorzelanny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Grozelanny sent the top of the lineup down in order.  Gorzelanny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Gorzelanny caught Beltran staring at strike three.  Church drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Delgado grounded a one-out single through the hole on the right side, and Church went first to third.  Pagan blooped the ball into shallow center, but Sanchez made the running catch.  Molina popped up to shallow right, and Nady made the catch leaving Mets standing on the corners.  Gorzelanny gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of 5th, Reyes drew a one-out walk.  Castillo popped up in foul ground along the first base line, and Doumit made the catch.  Wright grounded out to short to end the inning.  Gorzelanny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  Gorzelanny left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 5 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Russell replaced Gorzelanny with John Van Benschoten to begin the Bottom of the 6th.  Beltran drew a one-out walk.  Ryan Church drove a no-out RBI double into the gap in right center, and Carlos Beltran came all the way around to score.  Delgado grounded out to short.  Van Benschoten fanned Pagan.  Molina flied out to right to end the inning.  Van Benschoten gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Van Benschoten retired the side in order.  Van Benschoten gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Van Benschoten left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 ER, 1 BB, and he had 3 SOs.

Russell replaced Van Benschoten with Evan Meek to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Wright drew a leadoff walk.  With Beltran at the plate, Meek threw a passed ball so Wright moved over to second.  Beltran popped up to short, and Gomez made the catch.  Church grounded out to short.  Delgado drew a two-out walk.  Pagan also drew a two-out walk which loaded the bases.  Molina grounded out to first to leave the bases juiced.  Meek gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 3 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 9th, Meek retired the side in order.  Meek gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: Pittsburgh Pirates 13 - New York Mets 1.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.

The Mets already had to play a day game following a late extra innings night game.  Then, today’s game was delayed 40 minutes because a water main broke.  Oli was simply awful today.  He pitched 1.2 innings and gave up 7 runs while 5 were unearned.  The Mets made 3 errors today which made everything worse than it could’ve been.  The Bullpen allowed even more runs to score.  The offense isn’t even worth discussing since the Mets only put up 1 run on the scoreboard.  This was torture to watch.  On the Pirates, X-Man was on fire today.  Nady was 3 for 3, with 3 RBIs and 2 walks.  I hope Omar goes after him.  The Pirates put up 12 of their 13 runs in just 2 innings.

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The New York Mets (13-11) are playing Game 25 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Pittsburgh Pirates (10-15) at Shea Stadium.  The series opener got postponed so it’s the first game of the two-game series.  The game began at 7:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Pirates Lineup: McLouth, Gomez, Sanchez, Bay, Nady, LaRoche, Bautista, Paulino, Snell.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Delgado, Casanova, Chavez, Santana.

On the Mound

Johan Santana (3-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Nate McLouth led off with a solo shot to right.  Gomez grounded out to third.  Sanchez grounded out to second.  Santana fanned Bay.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, LaRoche drew a one-out walk.  Santana caught Bautista looking at strike three.  Paulino grounded out to short to end the inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Santana pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Jason Bay hit a one-out jack to left.  Nady flied out to left.  Santana fanned LaRoche.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Santana sent the bottom of the lineup down in order.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, McLouth drew a leadoff walk.  Santana got Gomez on a called strike three.  Sanchez flied out to left.  Bay drew a two-out walk.  Santana hit Nady in the arm to load the bases.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  Santana left the game after pitching 5.2 Innings allowing 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 7 SOs.

Randolph replaced Santana with Pedro Feliciano with two outs in the 6th Inning.  LaRoche popped up to short to leave the bases full of Pirates.  Feliciano gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Aaron Heilman to begin the Top of the 7th.  Bautista grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Paulino drew a no-out walk.  Morgan is pinch hitting for Marte, and Morgan popped out in shallow left.  Heilman gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Scott Schoeneweis with one out in the Top of the 7th.  McLouth grounded to second, and Castillo tagged Paulino as he was running to second.  With Gomez in the batters box, Schoeneweis threw a passed ball.  Casanova threw the ball to Schoeneweis who tagged out Bautista as he was going home.  Schoeneweis gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Schoeneweis with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Top of the 8th.  Gomez led off with a line drive into left field.  Sanchez pulled a no-out double down the left field line, and Gomez went from first to third.  Sanchez fanned Bay.  Nady drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Adam LaRoche drew a one-out walk to bring home Chris Gomez.  Bautista grounded to third, and Wright made the force out at home.  Paulino popped up to shallow right, and Castillo made the catch.  Sanchez gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sanchez with Billy Wagner to begin the Top of the 9th.  Doumit is pinch hitting for Grabow, and Doumit grounded to short.  Delgado couldn’t hold onto the catch from Reyes (Error on Jose Reyes) so the Pirates have a leadoff runner on base (Bixler is pinch running for Doumit).  With McLouth in the batters box, Wagner threw a wild pitch so Bixler moved over to second.  Wagner got McLouth swinging at strike three.  Gomez grounded out to short as Bixler advanced to third.  Freddy Sanchez hit a two-out RBI single to the gap in right center, and Brian Bixler came home to tie up the game.  Wagner fanned Bay.  Wagner gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.  In the Top of the 10th, LaRoche hit a one-out opposite field double off of the wall in left field.  Bautista flied out to center.  Paulino grounded out to short to leave LaRoche standing on second.  Wagner gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 10th Inning.

Randolph replaced Wagner with Jorge Sosa to begin the Top of the 11th.  Gomez grounded a two-out single through the hole on the right side.  Sanchez popped up to shallow center, and Beltran made the catch.  Sosa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 11th Inning.

At the Plate

Ian Snell (2-1) was the starting pitcher for the Pirates.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Reyes dropped a bunt in front of home plate and beat out the throw for a leadoff single.  With Castillo at the plate, Paulino threw out Reyes as he attempted to steal second.  Castillo flied out to left.  Wright drew a two-out walk.  Beltran grounded out to first to leave Wright on base.  Snell gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Snell retired the side in order.  Snell gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Chavez flied out to center.  Santana flied out to right.  Reyes drew a two-out walk.  Castillo grounded to second, and the Pirates turned the double play to end the inning.  Snell gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Beltran drew a one-out walk.  Ryan Church tied up the game with a one-out 2-run homer to right scoring Carlos Beltran.  Delgado flied out to left.  Casanova grounded out to first to end the inning.  Snell gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Chavez led off with a line drive to left.  Santana attempted to bunt on strike three, but he missed the ball.  Jose Reyes hit a one-out RBI triple off of the right field wall, and Endy Chavez came around to score.  Castillo drew a one-out walk.  David Wright grounded to short, and Sanchez (Error on Freddy Sanchez) mishandled the throw from Gomez so everybody is safe and Jose Reyes scored.  Beltran drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Snell gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  Snell left the game after pitching 4.1 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 5 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Russell replaced Snell with Damaso Marte with one out in the Bottom of the 5th.  Marte caught Church staring at ball four which resulted in a strike out.  Marte fanned Delgado.  Marte gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Marte worked a 1-2-3 inning.  Marte gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Russell replaced Marte with Tyler Yates to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Reyes drew a leadoff walk.  With Castillo at the plate, Reyes stole second.  Castillo drew a no-out walk.  Yates fanned Wright.  Beltran flied out to left near the line.  Church grounded out to second to leave two Mets on base.  Yates gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Russell replaced Yates with John Grabow to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Chavez lined a two-out single into shallow center.  Pagan is pinch hitting for Sanchez, and Grabow fanned Pagan to end the inning.  Grabow gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Russell replaced Grabow with Franquelis Osoria to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Reyes led off by grounding a single up the middle.  Castillo dropped down a bunt towards third, and Bautista made the out at first as Reyes moved over to second.  Wright flied out to right, and Reyes stayed put.  Beltran grounded out to second to leave Reyes on base.  Osoria gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 10th, Osorio retired the side in order.  Osorio gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 10th Inning.

Russell replaced Osorio with John Van Benschoten to begin the Bottom of the 11th.  Chavez hit a broken bat single up the middle to give the Mets a leadoff runner.  Anderson is pinch hitting for Sosa, and Van Benschoten was called for a Balk so Chavez moved over to second base.  Anderson dropped down a bunt towards third, and Bautista made the out at first as Chavez advanced to third.  Van Benschoten intentionally walked Reyes.  With Castillo in the batters box, Reyes went to second and it was called defensive indifference.  Castillo drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  The Wright Stuff crushed an opposite field single that hit right of the foul poul and fell in fair territory so Endy Chavez came home to score.  Van Benschoten gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 11th Inning.

Final Score: Pittsburgh Pirates 4 - New York Mets 5 (In 11).  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.

Another game, another win.  Santana gave up two solo shots.  He threw a lot of pitches, and he only went 5.2 innings.  The Mets got off to a slow start tonight offensively.  Church tied up the game at 2 in the 4th.  Jose was on base 6 times tonight and went 3 for 6.  Endy was 3 for 5.  Wright was 0-4 before he hit the walkoff.  I wish that the Mets didn’t have to go to extra innings against the Pirates, but it is what it is.

The Metropolitans are 14-11 now.  The Mets will host the Pirates again tomorrow for a day game.  After that, they head out west.

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Due to last night’s rainout, the Pirates and the Mets will only play a two-game series.  Last night’s game will be made up on August 11, 2008 at 1:10 p.m. ET.  Johan Santana and John Maine will be the starting pitches in the two-game set.  These are the Pirates so I’m looking forward to a mini-sweep.

Mets.com:

Series opener vs. Bucs postponed - Marty Noble lets us know that last night’s Pirates-Mets game is to be made up on Aug. 11 at 1:10 p.m. ET.

Delgado looks to stay hot vs. Bucs - Anthony DiComo put together a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Pirates and the Mets.

MUSEUM TO UNVEIL NEW ROBINSON PLAQUE SATURDAY - The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will unveil a new plaque of Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, featuring updated language to further honor his legacy, this Saturday, May 3, at 1:30 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Gallery. The ceremony will feature Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s widow, as she shares her thoughts on her late husband’s legacy.

Alou’s MRI postponed - Marty Noble stated that Moises Alou was unable to fly to New York early enough to make it to the Doctor yesterday because of the weather.  Alou had to postpone his visit to the foot Doctor until today.

Newsday:

Mets’ Delgado: I wasn’t sending message to fans - Katie Strang found out what Carlos Delgado had to say about not coming out of the dugout when the fans called for a curtain call.  Delgado said,

I hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh. We were winning by two. All I did was add another run. I didn’t think that was the right moment. It wasn’t a walk-off home run, it wasn’t a tiebreaking home run. It was a home run in April.

Rain puts Santana’s return to Shea on hold

New York Daily News:

Carlos Delgado says staying in dugout was his choice and not slight to fans

All wrong bringing David Wright into Carlos Delgado’s mess of nonsense

Media to Met fans: Boooo!

Curtain call Q&A with Carlos Delgado

Jane Jarvis recalls the happy times and tunes at Shea

Johan Santana goes after rainout - Roger Rubin informed us that Johan Santana will make the start tonight even after he was supposed to pitch last night, but the game got rained out.

Brian Schneider gets swell news - Roger Rubin reported that Brian Schneider could return shortly from an infection in his left thumb.

New York Post:

DELGADO NOT BUYING BOOS

THUMBS DOWN FOR SCHNEIDER

CURTAIN SNUB DESERVES CHEER

METS-PIRATES RAINED OUT

New York Times:

Nady Could Fill the Void He Left

Delgado Will Wait to Take His Bow

The Star-Ledger:

Delgado has no regrets about curtain-call snub

Revised pitching rotation - Colin Stephenson tells us how the rotation was affected by the rainout.

Mets rained out

Some days, it rains

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The good news is that I’m flying down to Charleston, SC for a wedding this weekend.  The bad news is that I won’t be able to cover the Mets-Braves series.  I’m a Rangers fan too so I’m going to miss a Braves-Mets series and Games 1 & 2 of the Rangers-Penguins series.  I set my DVR to record all of that except for Game 1 of the Rangers-Penguins series because it’s on Versus, and I don’t have it.  I’m also going to miss the NFL Draft.  Our output is going to be limited this weekend.  When I get home, I’m going to watch all the Mets-Braves series because I’d never miss it.

Here’s the probable pitching matchups:

• 04/25/2008 - Jair Jurrjens (2-2) - Mike Pelfrey (2-0)
• 04/26/2008 - Tim Hudson (3-1) - John Maine (1-2)
• 04/27/2008 - John Smoltz (3-1) - Nelson Figueroa Jr. (1-1)

I’m not sure about tonight, but the pitching matchups looks like it’s in the Braves favor on Saturday and Sunday.

Mets.com:

Mets’ early lead disappears in D.C. - Anthony DiComo summarized last night’s game between the Mets and the Nationals.

Mets hope to find groove vs. Braves - Anthony DiComo put together a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Braves and the Mets.

Thumb infection hospitalizes Schneider - Anthony DiComo reported that Brian Schneider, “was hospitalized on Thursday with a left thumb infection and will remain in New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery overnight.”  DiComo also thinks that it is possible that Schneider may end up on the DL.  In the meantime, the Mets brought up Gustavo Molina as a backup catcher.

Mets treading lightly with Sanchez - Anthony DiComo pointed out that Duaner Sanchez has looked superb, but the Mets are mindful of his past injuries.

Wright’s Foundation continues to grow - Anthony DiComo tells us about the David Wright Foundation which serves children in NYC and Virginia.

Newsday:

Heilman allows slam as Mets fall to Nationals - David Lennon also summarized last night’s Mets-Nationals game.

Pelfrey’s mouthpiece a distraction for opponents - David Lennon lets us know why Mike Pelfrey wears a mouthpiece, and how it affects his opponents.

Ex-Met Milledge sits after arriving late for game - According to the AP, Lastings Milledge wouldn’t state why he was late for last night’s game.  Maybe MC Millidge was recording a new gansta rap song.  What a dusch bag.

Infected thumb lands Mets’ Schneider in hospital

Lack of save opportunities not fazing Wagner

New York Daily News:

Mets drop early lead, lose to Nationals - Adam Rubin put together a game recap for last night’s game between the Mets and the Nationals.

Harold Reynolds, Omar Minaya reunite

Brian Schneider’s thumb worsens

Joe Smith offers his own curses to Cubs fans - According to Adam Rubin, Joe Smith was swearing at Cubs fans this week, and it ended up on YouTube.

New York Times:

Against Nationals, Not Much Goes Right for the Mets

His Forearm Is Better, but Schneider Is Out With Infected Thumb

The Star-Ledger:

Heilman slammed as Mets end road trip with dud

Schneider spends night in hospital

Final: Nationals 10, Mets 5

Schneider hospitalized

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The New York Mets (10-9) are playing Game 20 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Washington Nationals (6-15) at Nationals Park.  It’s the first game of the two-game series.  The game began at 7:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Delgado, Pagan, Schneider, Santana.

Nationals Lineup: Lopez, Guzman, Zimmerman, Johnson, Kearns, Milledge, Pena, Nieves, Redding.

At the Plate

Tim Redding (3-1) was the starting pitcher for the Nationals.  In the Top of the 1st, Redding sent the Mets down 1-2-3.  Redding gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 BBs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Beltran pulled a leadoff double into the right field corner.  Church grounded to first, and Johnson tagged first base as Beltran moved over to third.  Carlos Delgado hit an RBI ground out to second, and Carlos Beltran came home to score.  Pagan grounded out to first to end the inning.  Redding gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Santana lined a one-out standup double over the head of Milledge.  Reyes flied out to left.  Redding caught Castillo looking at strike three to leave Santana standing on second.  Redding gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Beltran drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Church grounded to first, and Johnson tagged first as Beltran advanced to second.  Delgado grounded out to second to leave Beltran on second.  Redding gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Schneider drew a one-out walk.  Santana also drew a one-out walk.  Reyes grounded to short, and Guzman only got the out at second on the double play attempt.  With Castillo in the batters box, Reyes stole second safely.  Luis Castillo hit a chopper towards second base, and Castillo beat out the throw to first as Brian Schneider came home to score and Reyes advanced to third.  Wright grounded out to short to leave runners on the corners.  Redding gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Beltran lined a leadoff single into left.  Redding gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Redding left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 4 Hits, 3 Runs, 3 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Acta replaced Redding with Ray King after facing one batter in the Top of the 6th.  Church grounded a slow spinning ball to third, and Zimmerman (2 Base Error on Ryan Zimmerman) made a bad throw to first so Church ended up on third and Carlos Beltran came around to score.  Delgado popped up in foul territory along the third base line, and Zimmerman made the out.  Angel Pagan grounded towards first base, and King hit Pagan with the throw to first so he was safe and Ryan Church scored.  With Schneider at the plate, Pagan stole second.  Then Pagan stole third.  Brian Schneider grounded to the pitcher, and the ball deflected off of King’s glove and landed in Guzman’s glove.  Guzman made the out at first as Angel Pagan came home to score.  Santana pulled the ball into the right field corner for his second standup double of the night.  King gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Acta replaced King with Saul Rivera with two outs in the Top of the 6th.  Reyes grounded out to third to end the inning.  Rivera gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Top of the 7th, Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Rivera gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Rivera left the game after pitching 1.1 Innings allowing 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO.

Acta replaced Rivera with Joel Hanrahan to begin the Top of the 8th.  Delgado grounded a one-out single to deep short.  Pagan flied out to left.  Anderson is pinch hitting for Santana, and Anderson flied out to left to end the inning.  Schneider lined a single into center, and Delgado went first to third.  Hanrahan gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Acta replaced Harahan with Jesus Colome to begin the Top of the 9th.  Colome fanned Reyes on three pitches.  Castillo lined a one-out single into right.  With Wright at the plate, Castillo stole second.  Wright drew a one-out walk.  Beltran grounded out to first, and Castillo advanced to third and Wright to second.  Ryan Church lined a two-out 2-run single over the head of Kearns in right which scored Luis Castillo and David Wright.  Delgado lined out to left to end the inning.  Colome gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

Johan Santana (2-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Guzman lined a one-out single through the hole on the right side.  Zimmerman flied out to the warning track in left.  Johnson grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first to end the inning.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Pena grounded hard to third, but he beat out the throw by Wright for a two-out single.  Nieves grounded a two-out single up the middle, and Pena advanced to second.  Santana fanned Redding to leave two Nationals stranded.  Santana gave 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Guzman lined a one-out single over the head of Reyes and into left field.  Zimmerman grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first as Guzman moved over to second.  Santana caught Johnson staring at strike three to leave Guzman on second.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Pena lined a two-out single into left field.  Nieves lined a two-out single into right, and Pena moved over to third.  Tim Redding drove a two-out 2-run double that one-hopped the wall in left center scoring Wily Mo Pena and Wil Nieves.  Lopez grounded out to second to leave Redding standing on second.  Santana gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Santana pitched his first 1-2-3 inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Santana retired the side again.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Boone is pinch hitting for Rivera, and Boone drew a one-out walk.  Lopez grounded to second, and the Mets turned the double play to end the inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Santana left the game after pitching 7.0 Innings allowing 7 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 1 BB, and 4 SOs.

Randolph replaced Santana with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Sanchez sent the Nationals down in order.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sanchez with Billy Wagner to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Kearns drew a leadoff walk.  Wagner struck out Milledge on three straight pitches.  Pena flied out to center.  With Nieves in the batters box, Kearns stole second.  Wagner fanned Nieves.  Wagner gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 7 - Washington Nationals 2.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Johan Santana (3-2) got the win and Ted Lilly (3-2) got the loss.

The stopper, Santana, did his job tonight by holding the Nats to 2 runs.  The 3-game losing streak is over, and the Mets have a chance to sweep this mini-series before coming home to battle the Braves over the weekend.  Santana pitched 7 innings so Willie didn’t have to make 4 pitching changes in an inning.  Sanchez and Wagner put up O’s in the eigth and ninth.  Beltran was smoking hot tonight.  Castillo had two hits tonight.  One of them didn’t really count as a hit, but the other was a line drive to right.  I tought when Castillo lined out to center was his best hit of the night, but it was caught by Milledge because Milledge was playing shallow.  Church had two hits as well.  So did Santana…2 standup doubles baby.  Pay your respects to him.

The Mets are 11-9 now.  I’m just waiting for them to get on a roll.

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